GTD online

There’s a race to be the best Mac GTD app. And the race is certainly on with the online versions too. I’ve looked at Tedium before, and Vitalist (or should I spell it “Vital!st” – nah… that looks like spam…) is similar to Tedium.

(Screenshot of Projects pane when adding a new action and assigning it to the @mac context)

I like Vitalist. It’s nice, clean and easy to understand. It needs to get a bit faster and responsive, as I had to wait a bit every time I entered something (even on a fast Mac and a very fast line). It should be as fast as the pages on Flickr when you update them.

There’s also a few things I see already (it’s a beta) that needs to be fixed:

I couldn’t find a way to edit contexts. I added contexts as “@online” and “@mac” but Vitalist added a “@” itself too. Easy to fix I guess.

(Screenshot of contexts with @@)

There’s no “Forgot your password” so be sure to write it down. This is something beta sites often forget.

The biggest “problem” with online GTD solutions is – as always – what do you do when you’re NOT online?

I’m online most of my time, but I couldn’t use a system where I’m not able to at least see my tasks even when I’m offline.

Sync to iPod?

One way to solve this is syncing with iPods. Like the excellent Mac OS X software Actiontastic (still in beta) does. Check a button and all your projects and tasks go to your iPod as notes. You can’t edit them but you can see them and – most important of all – DO them!

I think there are three ways to sync online GTD tasks to an offline device: A standalone program, a mobile phone (not a cell phone) or an iPod. Making a standalone app is not something I would expect most online systems would do, as this would be just as much work as the online system itself. And people would compare their offline app with other specialized GTD apps like Actiontastic and Inbox.

Syncing to mobile phones would be perfect for most customers, but there are so many different phones. A total mess to make something that just works.

what Id like to see is a standalone App that has the cleanness and style of these Web Apps. Look how nicely Vitalist has made their app it makes Actiontastic, Ghost Action and even Kinkless GTD seem dull. All these are wonderful and a triumph but shallow or not I want to turn to an app that is pleasing on the eye aswell as productive.

Lee

what Id like to see is a standalone App that has the cleanness and style of these Web Apps. Look how nicely Vitalist has made their app it makes Actiontastic, Ghost Action and even Kinkless GTD seem dull. All these are wonderful and a triumph but shallow or not I want to turn to an app that is pleasing on the eye aswell as productive.

Dan

I found this to be an interesting solution to the whole “while mobile” problem.

I have the Opera Mini browser loaded on my Motorola RAZR. Log in to Vitalist using the mobile address and MAKE SURE TO CHECK the Remember Me option so that a cookie is set.

Here’s the cool part. When you’re done reviewing your list, close your phone. Opera Mini STAYS RUNNING and STAYS ON the Vitalist Dashboard. So, when you go back into Opera Mini (Resume) you can see your Dashboard and refresh it!

Hook Vitalist up with Jott and you now have a way of quickly getting your tasks into your Vitalist Inbox via voice-to-text and you’re off and running!

Dan

I found this to be an interesting solution to the whole “while mobile” problem.

I have the Opera Mini browser loaded on my Motorola RAZR. Log in to Vitalist using the mobile address and MAKE SURE TO CHECK the Remember Me option so that a cookie is set.

Here’s the cool part. When you’re done reviewing your list, close your phone. Opera Mini STAYS RUNNING and STAYS ON the Vitalist Dashboard. So, when you go back into Opera Mini (Resume) you can see your Dashboard and refresh it!

Hook Vitalist up with Jott and you now have a way of quickly getting your tasks into your Vitalist Inbox via voice-to-text and you’re off and running!